June '06 bikeshare observations in Koln, Germany

I had the pleasure of spending a week at last year's World Cup in Germany.  Koln has an army of urban shared bikes and it seemed to have achieved the objectives of reducing theft, increasing usage, thus reducing waste and increasing citizen health.  Unfortunately it didn't help Germany (or France) from stopping the cheating Itals from 'winning'. :)
congrats to vancity for championing a similar concept to a city that offers excellent cycling opportunities and one of the worst bike theft zones i've ever been to.  
gk